Musical Week

Hey Everyone,

I was back in PE this week for classes and volunteering, so no jumping off bridges or climbing any mountains.  One thing that I did notice was how good it felt to be back in the flat after the trip from Cape Town.  The trip was amazing, and I was able to get some great experiences, many of which will be once in a lifetime.  It was comforting being back in PE and my flat, and I noticed how much I have gotten used to the area and my flat.  I have also talked with some others about this and they expressed a similar opinion. 

On Saturday, Matt and I went to campus to get a good lift in and do some running.  We used the kombis or taxis like we do every day for school and getting around town.  There is always some loud music blaring with a packed car that always makes for a great time.  I actually enjoy riding on the kombis because each ride is different and you can learn a lot just from listing and watching those riding.  We have gotten used to riding these large vans; however, and know the routes, prices, how to call for a stop, and just interact with the driver and caller.  On our way to campus there was a large group of white students walking down the street that looked foreign to South Africa.  The driver gave a couple of honks toward them to get their attention while the caller yelled in their direction as usual.  They looked excited that they were able to catch a kombi and waved for it to stop.  They were excited, but hesitated to get on and questioned where it was going. 

The driver answered their questions and they loaded up.  As they were getting on, one of the guys in the group told them all to get out seven Rand to pay for the ride.  Gas prices jumped up about two weeks ago, so the price of the ride was now eight Rand.  Matt and I both chimed in and told them of the change.  Eventually we talked and they were from New York, and getting here to do a few weeks of volunteering out on some farms.  After we got dropped off, Matt and I both laughed about the ride.  That is probably how our group must have looked early in the trip, and it was funny to see it from another perspective.  We have been able to assimilate into the culture fairly well in the past two and a half months.  In short conversations with people we can appear to be South Africa, and even trick a few Americans such as those on the kombi that we are from PE. 

We have become so accustom to many of the things that we see and do every day.  I notice things today that I wouldn’t have early in the semester because I am able to see it differently.  There are always eye-opening moments that I am shocked to see though.  Yesterday, on Monday, those of us that volunteer at Pendla Primary were able to look at a couple of the homes that the students live in from our school.  This was just an incredible experience.  The students live in shacks.  They have no running water, no toilets, no oven… nothing.  We have seen many townships since coming here, but this neighborhood was particularly tough to see.  I think it is because we know the students living in them.  It is just hard to believe that the happy faces and students that we work with live in those kinds of conditions.  This area is some of the poorest conditions. 

Before school, the students need to go to the well to get the families water for the day to wash up and use for cooking.  The area uses the bucket system for bathroom purposes.  That means they do their business in a bucket, and supposedly once a week the buckets are taken away because there is no plumbing.  The shacks are in terrible condition, and it is not uncommon to see trash on the roof to patch up a hole.  One of the teachers that was with us explained about the area to us.  She talked about how hard it is when they know the families have no money.  For myself, I envy the energy and passion my students are able to have each day.  They value their families and friends.  It is not uncommon to see a student in class without a lunch.  All of the other students share with that student to the point where that student usually has more than the rest.  The community which we were able to see while walking through the area also, is something that I think they are all passionate about, and it is a great opportunity for everyone to learn from.

Later in the day, we visited the house of Dudley Tito in the townships who is a jazz legend in the PE area.  He is the only living member left from his original band, but he has recruited new members and they play a handful of songs for us in their yard.  They were very talented and many of the neighbors stopped by once they realized the show going on.  The energy was amazing. 

Staying on the musical theme, today we went on a day trip to some parts of the Eastern Cape Province that we haven’t been to yet.  We started at Grahamstown where we stopped at Rhodes University which is the oldest university in South Africa.  We were given a lecture on a bit of story of Africa as a whole with attention paid to the musical aspects of the various regions.  After that, we travelled into a village near the coast.  Here we learned about some of the traditions of the Xhosa and Zulu people that make up the two major tribes in South Africa.  We had a traditional lunch of chicken with samp and beans.  The lunch gave us the energy to have enough energy to learn how to Zulu dance.  The Zulu culture was once a very strong tribe which had a militant approach to life.  Under the leader King Shaka the tribe advanced their area throughout most of the area pushing out many tribes and conquering many in the process.  Their fall came to be the British Empire in the 1800’s when Britain began to colonize the area.  The Zulu dancing has a manly aspect to it because of its war driven roots.  There are many powerful stomps and chants in the actions. 

Thanks for reading! 

Cheers,

Bobby